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Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Retrospective #49: Dietary Causes of Inflammation

Do you have syphilis? Or snort cocaine,
or smoke tobacco, or have a bacterial infection or periodontal disease that
causes an overproduction of cholesterol to accumulate in your arteries? If you
answered “no” to all of the above, the cause of chronic inflammation, and thus
of atherosclerotic plaque in your arteries, is likely to be dietary.

The relationship between dietary fat and
atherosclerosis, however, is contentious. The USDA’s current “MyPlate” and their
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, promote a low-fat diet, based largely on belief
that fat in the diet is atherogenic. The American Heart Association, the
American Diabetes Association and the National Cholesterol Education Program
make similar recommendations. Especially singled out are saturated fats, dietary
cholesterol and trans fats. Trans
fats are one of the few consensus points in nutrition as everyone thinks these are very bad for your health. But could all of
these authorities be wrong about the role of saturated fats and dietary
cholesterol?

In a word, “yes.” There is growing unanimity that monounsaturated fats,
such as are found in olive oil and avocado, are healthy. But polyunsaturated
fats, such as are manufactured by unnaturally processing seed crops
(called euphemistically “vegetable” oils, are coming under increasing scrutiny.
Soy bean oil and corn oil are the most widely used fats, accounting for over
90% of food oils used in the U.S. The latest (2015) Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (DGA) still strongly and doggedly encourages their use and defends
their safety.

Interestingly, though, the DGA’s
recommended limits on dietary cholesterol of 300mg/dl, and 30% total fat of
total calories, in place from inception (1980) up to 2015, has been lifted. The proscription on consuming saturated fat, however, remains. The
government want Americans to “replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats.”

Polyunsaturated fats are particularly unstable.
Referencing Wikipedia, they become damaged or oxidized very easily. In one
study when oxidized or rancid fats were fed to lab rats, they developed atherosclerosis.
In another, rabbits fed atherogenic diets containing various seed and grain
oils showed the largest increase in “oxidative susceptibility of LDL.” In a
study involving rabbits fed heated soybean oil, “grossly induced
atherosclerosis and marked liver damage were histological and clinically
demonstrated,” according to Wikipedia.

More from Wikipedia: Rancid fats and oils
taste and smell very bad even in small amounts and people avoid eating them.
But, in the United States, “vegetable” oils used in cooking are refined, bleached,
deodorized and degummed. The resultant oils are colorless, odorless, tasteless,
and have a longer shelf life than their unrefined counterparts. This extensive
processing makes fully oxidized, rancid oils much more elusive to detection via
human senses.

To properly protect polyunsaturated fats (all
“vegetable” oils) from oxidation, it is best to keep them cool and in a dark, oxygen
free environment. Keep them in the cupboard, not on the counter. And buy monounsaturated
oils that are sold in dark glass bottles, not clear plastic ones. Finally, don’t
overheat or use any of them repeatedly, such as in deep fat frying. And keep your
Omega-3 fish oil capsules and Flax Oil (high in Omega-3s) in the refrigerator.

So, if atherosclerosis is defined by
Wikipedia as “a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries,
promoted by LDL…without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol…by…HDL,” then
we should be concerned about the quality and quantity of LDL in our arteries – lest it become oxidized LDL. Likewise,
we should be concerned if our circulating HDL in not high enough to
transport any oxidized-LDL back to the liver as it is supposed todo.

Why do the two bad conditions (high LDL
and low HDL) co-exist in so many of us today? It’s our diet! To avoid oxidized
LDL, we should eat far fewer polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), especially ones that
are partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated (as in margarine and many
store-bought baked goods), oxidized, or heated (as in deep fat frying).

We can also take supplementary Omega-3s
to help us regain a better Omega 6/Omega 3 balance (Retrospective #22. And, we
can raise our HDL so they can do their
job. For that, see Retrospective #34, “Foods that Raise HDL.”

The oxidized-LDL hypothesis as the cause
heart disease, of inflammation and of atherosclerosis, posits that, “Once
inside the vessel wall, LDL molecules become susceptible to oxidation by free radicals
and become toxic to the cells.” Read Retrospective #48, “Inflammation and
Atherosclerosis,” to refresh. Free radicals cause
the oxidative stress that “triggers a cascade of immune responses which over
time can produce the characteristic “atheroma” nodule in the artery wall that
is the start of atherosclerosis.”

“Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress” is
the subject of the next Retrospective, #50.

About Me

I was diagnosed a Type 2 diabetic in 1986. I started a Very Low Carb diet (Atkins Induction) in 2002 to lose weight. I didn’t realize at the time that it would put my diabetes in clinical remission, or that I would be able to give up almost all of my oral diabetes meds. I also didn’t understand that, as I lost weight and continued to eat Very Low Carb, my blood lipids would dramatically improve (doubling my HDL and cutting my triglycerides by 2/3rds) and that my blood pressure would drop from 130/90 to 110/70 on the same meds.
Over the years I changed from Atkins to the Bernstein Diet (designed for diabetics) and, altogether lost 170 pounds. I later regained some and then lost some. As long as I eat Very Low Carb, I am not hungry and I have lots of energy. And I no longer have any of the indications of Metabolic Syndrome.
My goal, as long as I have excess body fat, is to remain continuously in a ketogenic state, both for blood glucose regulation and continued weight loss. I expect that this regimen will continue to provide the benefits of reduced systemic inflammation, improved blood lipids and lower blood pressure as well.